2010 Volume 5 Issue 2 Pages 203-215
Livestock production plays important roles in food production and income generation for relocated rural villagers. These farmers were relocated from mountainous regions in an effort to reduce the practice of shifting cultivation as part of the government policy to conserve its natural forests and increase food security through improved rice production in the lowlands. Improvement of livestock production in relocated rural villages, which are generally small, traditional, and subsistence-level, has been given the highest priority in the Lao government's rural development strategy (Gleeson and Colling, 2006). To investigate the effect of livestock production on livelihood improvement in relocated villages, I performed a case study in Houakhoa village, in Long District of Luang Namtha Province, Laos. Data on socioeconomic factors affecting farmers' livelihoods after relocation were collected; these data covered 58 households that had been relocated from different districts and provinces in the period 1985 to 2009. Farmers were allocated to five groups according to the time of their relocation: group 1 (1985-1989), group 2 (1990-1994), group 3 (1995-1999), group 4 (2000-2004), and group 5 (2005-2009). The total agricultural land areas owned by group 1 and 4 farmers were significantly larger than those owned by group 5 farmers. The total household income increased in all groups after relocation. The reason for the income increase could have been improved access to various social services and information, including agricultural technologies. No significant differences in total average numbers of pigs or poultry were observed among the five groups. Income from livestock production tended to be more important and stable than that from crop production in all groups. Reorientation of livestock production from semi-subsistence or subsistence systems toward sustainable commercial production, together with exploration of the potential of livestock intensification, could therefore be among the potential alternatives for improving the livelihoods of relocated rural villagers in Laos.
